49 U.S.C. § 30166 — Inspections, investigations, and records

(a) Definition. In this section, "motor vehicle accident" means an event tied to using or maintaining a motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment that results in personal injury, death, or property damage.

(b) Authority to inspect and investigate. (1) The Secretary of Transportation may conduct an inspection or investigation (A) that may be needed to enforce this chapter, or a regulation or order issued under it, or (B) related to a motor vehicle accident and designed to carry out this chapter. (2) The Secretary must cooperate with state and local officials as much as possible on an investigation under paragraph (1)(B).

(c) Matters that can be inspected, and impoundment. In carrying out this chapter, an officer or employee designated by the Secretary (1) may, at reasonable times, inspect and copy any record related to this chapter; (2) may, on request, inspect the records of a manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or rental company to decide whether it has complied or is complying with this chapter or a related regulation or order; (3) may, at reasonable times, in a reasonable way, and after showing credentials and giving written notice to the owner, operator, or agent in charge, (A) enter and inspect, with reasonable promptness, premises where a vehicle or equipment is manufactured, held for interstate sale, including at U.S. ports of entry, or held for sale after entering interstate commerce, (B) enter and inspect, with reasonable promptness, premises where a vehicle or equipment involved in an accident is located, (C) inspect that vehicle or equipment with reasonable promptness, and (D) impound that vehicle or equipment for up to 72 hours; and (4) must enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Secretary of Homeland Security for inspecting and sampling imported motor vehicle equipment for compliance.

(d) Reasonable compensation. If inspecting or temporarily impounding a vehicle under subsection (c)(3), other than a vehicle covered by a specific subchapter, denies the owner use of it or reduces its value, the Secretary must pay the owner reasonable compensation.

(e) Records and making reports. The Secretary may reasonably require a manufacturer to keep records, and a manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or rental company to make reports, so the Secretary can decide whether it has complied or is complying with this chapter or a related regulation or order. This does not add recordkeeping duties for distributors, dealers, or rental companies beyond what subsection (f) and section 30117(b) already require.

(f) Providing copies of communications about defects and noncompliance. (1) In general: A manufacturer must give the Secretary a true or representative copy of every communication it sends to its dealers, rental companies, or other owners or purchasers about a defect or noncompliance with a safety standard in a vehicle or equipment that has been sold or serviced, and the Secretary must post these publicly on a website. (2) Index: Each submitted communication must come with an index that (A) identifies the make, model, and model year of the affected vehicles, (B) gives a concise summary of the subject matter, and (C) the Secretary must make available to the public online in a searchable format.

(g) Administrative authority on reports, answers, and hearings. (1) In carrying out this chapter, the Secretary may (A) order, by general or special order, any person to file reports or answers to specific questions, including under oath, and (B) hold hearings, administer oaths, take testimony, and subpoena the appearance and testimony of witnesses and the production of records. (2) A witness summoned under this subsection gets the same fee and mileage they would get in a United States court.

(h) Civil actions to enforce and venue. A civil action to enforce a subpoena or order under subsection (g) may be brought in the United States district court for the district where the proceeding is conducted. The court may punish a failure to obey such an order as contempt of court.

(i) Governmental cooperation. The Secretary may ask any federal department, agency, or instrumentality to provide records the Secretary considers necessary to carry out this chapter. That department, agency, or instrumentality must provide the record on request, may detail personnel on a reimbursable basis, and must otherwise cooperate, unless another law limits its authority to share the information.

(j) Cooperation of Secretary. The Secretary may advise, help, and work with federal departments, agencies, states, and other public and private groups to develop methods for inspecting and testing compliance with a motor vehicle safety standard.

(k) Providing information. The Secretary must give the Attorney General, and when appropriate the Secretary of the Treasury, any information obtained that shows a violation of this chapter or a related regulation or order.

(l) Reporting of defects in motor vehicles and products in foreign countries. (1) Reporting of defects, manufacturer determination: Within 5 working days of deciding to run a safety recall or other safety campaign in a foreign country on a vehicle or equipment identical or substantially similar to one offered for sale in the United States, the manufacturer must report that decision to the Secretary. (2) Reporting of defects, foreign government determination: Within 5 working days of learning that a foreign government has ordered such a recall or safety campaign, the manufacturer must report that to the Secretary as well. (3) Reporting requirements: The Secretary sets what the notification under this subsection must contain.

(m) Early warning reporting requirements. (1) Rulemaking required: Within 120 days after the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act was enacted, the Secretary had to start a rulemaking to create early warning reporting requirements for manufacturers of motor vehicles and equipment, to improve the Secretary's ability to carry out this chapter. (2) Deadline: The final rule was due by June 30, 2002. (3) Reporting elements: (A) Warranty and claims data: The final rule must require manufacturers to periodically report, or report on request, information from foreign and domestic sources that could help identify safety defects, including (i) claims data on serious injuries or deaths, and aggregate property-damage data, from alleged defects, or (ii) customer satisfaction campaigns, consumer advisories, recalls, or other repair or replacement activity. (B) Other data: The Secretary may also require other information likely to help identify safety defects, periodically or on request. (C) Reporting of possible defects: Manufacturers must report to the Secretary, as the Secretary's regulations specify, every incident they actually learn of involving deaths or serious injuries alleged or proven to have been caused by a possible defect, whether the incident is in the United States or in a foreign country involving an identical or substantially similar product. (D) Settlements: Even if a civil-case order restricts disclosing information, manufacturers must still comply with this subsection's reporting requirements. (4) Handling and utilization of reporting elements: (A) Secretary's specifications: The final rule must specify (i) how the reported information will be reviewed and used to help identify safety defects, (ii) the systems the Secretary will use, and (iii) the manner and form of reporting, including electronic reporting. (B) Information in possession of manufacturer: The regulations cannot require a manufacturer to keep or submit records about information it does not actually have. (C) Disclosure: None of the information collected under this rule may be disclosed under section 30167(b) unless the Secretary decides disclosure will help carry out sections 30117(b) and 30118 through 30121. (D) Burdensome requirements: The final rule cannot impose requirements that are unduly burdensome, weighing the manufacturer's compliance cost against how meaningfully the Secretary can use the information to identify safety defects. (5) Periodic review: The final rule must include procedures for periodically reviewing and updating it.

(n) Sale or lease of defective or noncompliant tire. (1) In general: Within 90 days of the TREAD Act's enactment, the Secretary had to issue a final rule requiring anyone who knowingly and willfully sells or leases a defective or noncompliant tire for use on a vehicle, while actually knowing the manufacturer already notified its dealers of the defect or noncompliance, to report that sale or lease to the Secretary. (2) Defect or noncompliance remedied or order not in effect: This reporting requirement does not apply if, before the tire is delivered under the sale or lease, (A) the defect or noncompliance was already fixed as section 30120 requires, or (B) notice was required under section 30118(b) but enforcement of the order is stayed, or the order is set aside, in a related civil action under section 30121(d).

(o) Corporate responsibility for reports. (1) In general: The Secretary must require, by rule, that a senior safety official at any company submitting information to the Secretary in a safety-defect or compliance investigation certify (A) that the official reviewed the submission, and (B) that, to the official's knowledge, the submission does not (i) contain an untrue statement of a material fact, or (ii) leave out a material fact needed to keep the statements made from being misleading. (2) Notice: This certification requirement must be clearly stated on any request for information under paragraph (1). (3) Deadline: The final rule was due within 1 year after the Comprehensive Transportation and Consumer Protection Act of 2015 was enacted.